Posts tagged ‘Southwest’

As I’ve said before, it’s easy to travel with a small pet dog (say, under 10 lbs.), and it’s pretty easy to travel with a pet Chloe’s size (she has variously weighed 13-16 lbs., and stands 12″ tall at the shoulder). But what about pets weighing more than 16 lbs., or measuring more than 12″ tall at the shoulder? This week, reader Amy reports on making the extra-large SturdiBag work for her tall Miniature Poodle, with some useful modifications and … Read more

Those of you who follow Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page will know that I first saw this carrier in a celebrity shot in the Daily Mail: Julianne Hough was carrying it through an airport, and my eyes lit up because in it was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel just like Chloe.

Photo from the Daily Mail

Workable in-cabin carriers for larger small dogs are rare. I figured out the bag’s brand and model, bought one, and took it on a flight — … Read more

I have mentioned Celltei’s custom carriers in the past (they made a gigantic combination wheeled/backpack carrier for a 50 lb. dog, for travel on NYC’s subway system), but I have yet to check them out for myself. I was grateful, therefore, to hear from reader Courtney about the custom carrier she ordered from Celltei for Franny, her 19 lb. Cardigan Welsh Corgi — especially because I’ve just learned that the expandable carrier I typically recommend to folks with really large … Read more

Here’s another photo to share with you of a large SturdiBag in position under a plane seat, thanks to reader Kathy. She posted a message this week on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page, telling me that she’d taken Theodore, her 13 year-old Toy Poodle, on his first plane flight, and all went well — and she was extra-relieved, because Theodore is “a delicate little guy.”

They flew on a Southwest 737-700 series plane, in a middle seat, and Kathy bought the large … Read more

In last Wednesday’s blog post, I mentioned that while the in-cabin pet carrier that Southwest Airlines sells is a workable option, it’s improved by a modification a reader sent me. In its “resting” state, the bag is 8.5″ tall. Unzipped, a gusset allows the bag to be 10.5″ tall — but the gusset has no support, so it tends to collapse back down on your pup’s head.

Enter reader Andee and her clever modification, explained in this annotated photo:

An earlier version of this post is one of Dog Jaunt’s top hits — clearly, it’s a question that a lot of you have, but the info in the old post was getting dated. Here’s a re-do, with fresh information.

Nowadays, only two major U.S. airlines will sell you an in-cabin carrier: JetBlue and Southwest. Please note that while AirTran and United say they do, I learned yesterday from customer reps that AirTran has in fact discontinued that service, and United … Read more

10/18/13 Thanks to reader Rebecca for nudging me (see the comments below) to update this post. Since I wrote it, Southwest and AirTran have snuggled into a cozier embrace and now you can bring a pet on a “shared itinerary” (that is, travel plans that include flight legs on Southwest and AirTran planes). However, you can only make advanced reservations for your in-cabin pet on non-shared, AirTran-only itineraries. If you fly entirely on AirTran flights, “Advanced reservations must be made … Read more

I have flown with Chloe on a Southwest 737-800, but while I remembered a tape measure, I hadn’t yet figured out that it would be a good idea to include a picture of Chloe’s carrier (in that case, her large SturdiBag) in my post about the available space. Thankfully, Dog Jaunt has sensible readers, including Claire, who traveled either to or from Phoenix on a Southwest 737-800 plane with Daisy, her tricolor Cavalier, and sent a picture:

Just over a year ago, I posted a very positive review of the Kobi Pet Carrier: I liked its features, and loved how it expanded on demand (with a zippered gusset) from 18″ long to 21″ long, but regretted that even the larger of the two sizes available was too short, at 10″ tall, for Chloe (who’s 12″ tall at the shoulders). Kobi kindly let me offer it as a giveaway, and it went to reader Debra Lee, whose pup … Read more

I’ve said plenty of rude things about Sherpa carriers over the years, but I’ve only briefly owned two (the large- and medium-sized wheeled bags). That all changed at the end of December, when my husband and I decided to bring home a cat my parents had rescued but couldn’t, realistically speaking, keep. We had no idea how well Cora would handle the stress of travel, so I decided to buy a good quality carrier, and the best one I could … Read more

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Writing to Dog Jaunt

While I generally don't accept guest posts, reports from readers are crucial and treasured sources of information. If you have travel tips, photos, recommendations, or a personal travel story that you would like to contribute to Dog Jaunt, please send me email:[email protected]